Ongoing Pandemic Causing Many Singles to Lower Their Standards

Feeling a bit unlucky in love? The current global coronavirus pandemic may be just what you need.

According to an article in PRNewswire, the never ending pandemic has singles reevaluating their standards. And in many cases lowering them.

With the advent of social distancing and the closing of many of the places people used to go to meet someone new, many singles have turned to online dating and the results have been mixed. Faced with the dilemma of either staying single and lonely or lowering their standards a recent survey conducted by RealMe showed that standards are being pushed aside.

The main motivator was loneliness with 67% of the respondents stating that they are 'Less OK' with being single at this time in history. A full 64% said that they are less picky with their online matches now than they were before the quarantines and social restrictions began.

64% of the Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) say that if the social restrictions continue for another few months they will use dating apps more frequently.

72% of current online daters say they are now more hesitant to have any sort of physical contact like a hug or touching someone's hand when speaking than they were before.

Almost 90% of those surveyed said that they wished they had more information about the person they were interacting with online. They went on to say that they would be more comfortable and more likely to actually meet the other person somewhere if they had some way to verify their profile. Apparently not everyone is 100% honest about things like criminal records, lawsuits, and finances on every dating site.

On the bright side, 74% say they now place more importance and invest more time in actually talking to the other person, and over a third of the respondents say they plan to continue focusing on conversations even when the pandemic is over.

So, what's the takeaway from all of this? Neil Davis, the RealMe Head of Dating, says that the implications of the pandemic go far beyond just a spike in online dating activity. We, as a society, have transformed the way we meet and connect with each other on a long term basis, and some of those newfound behaviors come with newfound risks and security concerns.

If lowering your standards just a little bit helps you find long-term love, perhaps the standards were unreasonable to begin with. Just don't lower them too far.

The study involved more than 3,000 respondents in the United States.